Saturday, October 04, 2008

Is There Anybody Out There?

I noticed this big antenna on the grassy field at Lake Rudan on a recent visit. Next to the antenna was a big military type tent and a group of people. I had to investigate. And that's how I met Thomas and Carl-Mikael. They are both members of SKØZA. A brand new (June 2008) ham radio club for the greater Stockholm area. The club has around 40 members. Thomas, to the left lives in Vega in Haninge and works at Addici in Stockholm. Carl-Mikael lives at Arlanda, north of Stockholm and works for Securitas. If you are into ham radio here are their calls. Carl-Mikael SAØAZS. And Thomas SMØWQT. Thomas wife Pirjo, SMØYPK is also a member. Today they had a field day and a car boot sale in Handen. Another member Kalle SAØAWX owns a big truck and it was thanks to him they got the antenna in place. The guys told me about the rules for getting a DXCC diploma. Around six million people around the world are involved in ham radio.There are a few flickr groups for the ham radio enthusiasts. If you want to know more about ham radio there's a wikipedia article with lots of facts. Zoom in on the guys.